Reds praised on agents' fees

MANCHESTER United have been given a pat on the back for revealing the amounts they have paid to players' agents.The Reds' annual report revealed that the club had paid a staggering é5.5m to agents in the last financial year.

MANCHESTER United have been given a pat on the back for revealing the amounts they have paid to players' agents.

The Reds' annual report revealed that the club had paid a staggering é5.5m to agents in the last financial year.

But football's self-regulatory body, the IFC, has welcomed Old Trafford's unprecedented openness.

The Commission, established as an independent scrutiny body by the football authorities in 2002, has strongly advocated greater transparency and accountability within football's financial regulations since its inception.

The IFC chairman Professor Derek Fraser said: "In our latest annual report we praised the Football League for its new initiative in publishing aggregate figures for agent's fees paid by Football League clubs.

"Now Manchester United have provided detailed information of fees paid to agents for individual transactions.

"This is a most welcome development and it provides a good example which other Premier League clubs should be following."

However, the Commission is mystified by the fact that the club paid players' agents for negotiating new deals.

Ruud van Nistelrooy's representative, for instance, was paid é1.2m, which was the largest fee to an agent in the last financial year.

The Dutchman signed a new contract with United earlier this year.

The IFC believes that the football authorities should make such disclosures mandatory for all clubs.

And it also calls for the removal of any ambiguities, as revealed in current practice, over the role of agents acting both for a player and a club, and over who should pay the agents.

"David Gill, United's chief executive, is quite right to say that players are entitled to skilled professional representation," Professor Fraser adds.

"However, in other fields where agents are the norm, such as artistic or literary activity, fees are paid by the individual the agent represents.

"The figures revealed certainly raise some questions.

"For example, why did the club pay the player's agent for representing the player in contract renewal negotiations: should that not be the player's financial obligation?"

The IFC also believes the disclosures will particularly be welcomed by the supporters whose custom helps to provide the funds from which agents' fees are paid.